Reflecting on UMass: What Did Jeff Hafley Say During His Sunday Presser?
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Staff Writer
We’ll have to wait a little longer to know the status of starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who left Saturday’s game at UMass in the first quarter with an injury to his throwing hand/wrist.
Head coach Jeff Hafley said Sunday that he had just met with the team doctors. Jurkovec got X-rays, and the medical staff was supposed to report back to him about Jurkovec’s prognosis later that afternoon.
“All I know is he kind of fell on [his throwing hand] when he went down,” Hafley said.
Hafley doesn’t meet again with the media until Tuesday, so Jurkovec’s health could be kept internal for the next 24 hours or so.
When asked who BC’s third-string quarterback is right now—the Eagles don’t have one listed on their depth chart—Hafley said that the team hasn’t announced a QB3 yet.
“If we find out Phil cannot go, then we’ll sit down, and we’ll figure out who is the best to be the third right now,” Hafley said.
Of course, that QB3 would really be the backup to Dennis Grosel in that situation. The reliable Grosel filled in for Jurkovec this past weekend and completed 11-of-14 passes for 199 yards and a score, not to mention his quarterback sneak rushing touchdown.
Hafley was most impressed with the blocking of his offensive line and tight ends. BC rushed for 250 yards—the second most in the young Hafley era—and allowed zero sacks. But Hafley said “that’s what we should have done.”
After all, UMass ranked second-to-last in the country in run defense last year. Hafley thinks that, with better defense and fewer penalties, the Eagles would have been able to mount at least 350 yards on the ground during Saturday’s victory.
“I mean you should have seen these guys blocking yesterday and finishing,” Hafley said. “I just showed the whole team like 10 clips of these guys coming off the ball. I mean it was unbelievable. So I know I’m getting a little bit excited, but I just watched that offensive tape, and it was beautiful.”
Hafley felt like UMass’ defense couldn’t stop BC. In his eyes, the whole story of the game was the Eagles letting the Minutemen back in with a laundry basket of yellow flags and missed tackles.
“As you watch this game, it was like 14 was the magic number. I mean it was 28-7. We’re ready to go up, 60-7. And it was a matter of when are we gonna blow ’em out and get away from this 14-point deal. And we just kept letting them back in the game with self-inflicted [mistakes].”
One of those self-inflicted mistakes was a muffed punt in the third quarter. Travis Levy tried to field a 52-yard boomer from UMass’ George Georgeopoulos while backpedaling and couldn’t come down with the ball. The Minutemen recovered the fumble at the Eagles’ one-yard line and, three plays later, scored.
Hafley, however, knew that Levy would redeem himself. Actually, when Levy caught the kickoff near the midpoint of the fourth quarter, the 42-year-old head coach said that he believed his running back was going to house it.
“I just had a feeling,” Hafley said. “That’s just the type of guy he is. No one was going to stop him on that play.”
Hafley continued: “Those are the guys that you try to talk about. Guys want to play in the NFL. They’ve gotta be able to play special teams. He’s on all of them. He’s one of our best special teams players. And he can play running back. And he can catch the ball. And he just had a 96-yard kickoff return.”
Levy was one of three BC running backs that saw significant action Saturday. Pat Garwo III exploded for 160 yards on 15 carries, averaging 10.7 yards a tote. Garwo’s previous career high was 36 yards against Pittsburgh in 2020. Both games this season, he has averaged over seven yards per carry.
But Alec Sinkfield got the start in Amherst. The West Virginia transfer took over the Eagles’ opening drive with seven rushes for 32 yards and a score. He finished with 45 yards on 13 carries. It marked the second week in a row with a new starter in the backfield.
“We really liked the way Sink practiced during the week and felt comfortable with him, knowing what we were going to run on the first play there,” Hafley said. “But then, as you saw, we rotate those guys in. So shoot who knows who’s gonna get the first snap next week.
“I kinda said this before, whether it’s defense or offense, I don’t take it as, you know, Sink’s started so he’s the starter this week, or Pat starts that week. They’re all gonna do it, man. And they need to understand that, and I think they do ’cause they care about each other.”
Hafley had adopted a similar approach to the Eagles’ tight end room, yet he concedes that Trae Barry has started to separate himself, at least in regard to his pass-catching skills. The Jacksonville State transfer reeled in five catches for 98 yards and a touchdown at UMass.
“He’s starting to play the game faster,” Hafley said. “He’s starting to understand our offense. He’s fun to watch. He’s a hard guy to defend. Really hard guy to defend.”
Hafley maintained that fellow tight end Joey Luchetti, who BC often pairs with Barry in 12-personnel packages, is one of the best blockers on the team.
Both are valuable assets for whichever Eagles quarterback is under center at Temple this week.
